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This Month's Exceptional Doctor: Dr Robin Youngson talks about his current work and how shocking and sad events in his past have shaped how he approaches medicine today. Click on his image and discover his exceptional story...

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There’s a lot of talk about mindfulness these days, with some pretty big benefit claims. But is this just new age rah rah or are there real, demonstrated, benefits of mindfulness? And more specifically, is it of benefit to doctors?
Five key benefits of mindfulness training
According to “Doing and Being: Mindfulness, Health, and Quiet Ego Characteristics among Buddhist Practitioners,” the 2011 research article that published the survey results in the Journal of Happiness Studies (12(4): 575-589), there were five key ways that mindfulness training increased physical and mental health:
It strengthened immune system and physiological responses to stress and negative emotions.
It improved social relationships with family and strangers.
It reduced stress, depression, and anxiety and increased well-being and happiness.
It increased openness to experience, conscientiousness, and agreeableness and reduced negative associations with neuroticism.
It led to greater psychological mindfulness, which included an awareness that is clear, nonconceptual, and flexible; a practical stance toward reality; and present attention to the individual’s consciousness and awareness.
"One of the surprising findings of this study and what some others are coming up with is how much of a difference it makes to focus your mind and calm down. It actually makes a large difference in your well-being.”
Meditative mindfulness practices have been shown to positively alter the structure and neural patterns in the brain and strengthen the brain regions associated with heightened sensory processing and empathetic response. Therefore, individuals who regularly practices mindfulness training are quite literally reforming the structure of their brains to achieve desired outcomes. “We are finding more and more that the human brain is quite adaptable, as we have learnt that the brain reroutes information through new neuropathways, so in addition to the mind being adaptable, the brain too has this quality,” author of a study conducted at Northern Arizona University, Bruce Sullivan explains. Individuals who said they meditated even once a day reported greater psychological mindfulness.

Dr Robin Youngson is an anaesthetic specialist, author and speaker based in New Zealand. The corruption and abuses he experienced in his early years of practice motivated him to fight for patient rights and change the system. He and his wife Meredith Youngson are the founders of Heart in Healthcare, a project which educated leaders in the medical field about the power of compassionate practice.

Dr Michael Ellis is a medical doctor with more than 20 years’ experience. He has higher qualifications in general medicine and paediatrics, holds an Honours Degree in Literature, Arts, Philosophy and Social Psychology and has naturopathic qualifications. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Michael takes a holistic approach to healthcare, with a special interest in mind/ body medicine and in optimizing the physical, mental and emotional health of the patient.

Dr Robin Youngson is an exceptional doctor, author and speaker.
He came to medicine via an unusual route. He initially went to University to study Engineering, but soon realised that medicine was his true calling.
“Halfway through my engineering degree I became more aware of my father’s work and he was a doctor, and I realized the kind of satisfaction that he had from his work,” he says.

Dr Michael Ellis is a medical doctor with more than 20 years’ experience. He has higher qualifications in general medicine and paediatrics, holds an Honours Degree in Literature, Arts, Philosophy and Social Psychology and has naturopathic qualifications. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Michael takes a holistic approach to healthcare, with a special interest in mind/body medicine and in optimizing the physical, mental and emotional health of the patient.